Japanese Policing Is Illustrated Criminology Essay

Japanese Policing Is Illustrated Criminology Essay Following the establishment of the London metropolitan police by Sir Robert Peel in 1829, the arrangement of police forces throughout the country was a cumulative process, with each anew local police force operating according to the needs of individual communities they served. Hence, policing was part of the self-directed process insofar as was it was proposed to reflect the needs of the public. In that history, the roots of English policing lay in a particular functionary. The principles of community oriented policing in Britain in addition to several important aspects of its practice e.g. neighbourhood patrols can be traced to the creation of professional policing in the nineteenth century and the ways in which the police mandate was established. Early authors of British policing such as Peel established the notion that effective policing can only be attained with the consent of the community. Established in 1829, The Peelian Principles currently are applicable and used in law enforcement agencies and community policing organizations across the world today. The principles preserve the notion of policing by consent which has been at the core of British policing since. The second and third principles state that the police would not be able to operate without the active co-operation of the community (ACPO 2012). Community policing involves and is seemingly justified as necessary by the Peelian Principles stated above. This remains the case, but the diffi culties facing communities alongside the police have altered over time. In the Peelian model, found in Britain, the police are less pervasive of community than their authoritarian counterparts and, while it is accepted that they do perform an array of servicing tasks, police organizations are more generally equipped towards emergency response and law enforcement than routine intervention in neighbourhood life. In Eastern organisations such as Japan, argues Bayley (1982, police are used as an important element in social control, but in contrast with the other two models, tends to maintain order through harnessing the forces of informal social control. Rather than the use of robust and legal authority, they cultivate community involvement in crime control through extensive, service-style interactions with the community by example and persuasion allowing them to become an integrated part of the Japanese community in which they can regularly advise, engage and mediate functions (Bayley 1976). This conforms systematically to the ideal of the koban In western models of community policing the main function of the police is to maintain order, and where the citizen commonly fails to recognise the legitimacy of the state and its agents, the police. In such societies, the police may carry out a range of administrative tasks on behalf of the state, but rarely provide a public service that addresses the needs of the community. In comparison, a community-oriented system like Japan is one where the main function of the police is to provide a public service that addresses the wider needs of the community as distinguished by the Koban and Chuzaisho. The emphasis here is more on crime as indicative of community problems as an affront to authority. Such a model adopts that the police are afforded considerable legitimacy by local communities. Community policing elements in UK are, for example, incorporated in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. It facilitates for the administration of crime surveys to organise local priorities in respect to crime and disorder. The English tradition of high levels of discretion and decentralisation of the police service also fit a community-oriented policing style. Community policing is also in operation, albeit sometimes seemingly in disguise, in Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands. When introduced in western societies it often means that a shift is made towards either more local efforts on crime prevention, a reprioritisation of non-emergency services, increased public accountability or a decentralisation of decision-making on policing (Skolnick and Bayley 1988). Police officers seem to have a great deal of respect in Japan, and koban officers are generally proud of their neighbourhood and the work they do. Needless to say, in many countries around the globe this is not quite the case. Lack of trust between police and citizens will make effective community policing almost impossible. For example following Scarman report (Scarman 1981) on Brixton riots, it focused attention on the needs for the police to develop closer engagements with members of the communities that they served. This led to the sense police were disconnected from the community and as a consequence they lacked the legitimacy required to police by consent. Undeniably Bennett describes community policing as its most basic, a greater working partnership between the police and the public (Bennett 1994: 224). Community police calls for much more decentralisation in the UKs policing system like US which has over 20,000 policing agencies throughout the country (Casey 2010) which is s imilar to the Japanese policing structure where police officers are seen as state servants. After the World War two, the US authorities initiated wide changes in Japan in rebuilding its police systems as a decentralized democratic body to impose a local system of policing from its invasive neighbourhood function. Neighbourhood policing has become the latest model of community policing in the UK, whilst community policing has been a prevalent model in the USA it hasnt been as noteworthy in the UK. Nevertheless during the early 2000s there was growing anxiety to the rise in the publics perception of crime. This eventually led to the development of the National Reassurance Policing Programme (NRPP) which developed a set of practical policing strategies that was orientated, largely, at reducing fear of crime midst the community. The Neighbourhood Policing model developed entirely out of the NRRP, and is undertaking with the extension of the policing family in order to provide each neighbourhood a local policing team that is both visible and accessible (Home Office 2008) much like the koban concept of community orientated policing in Japan where there are situated locally to help police the community. John Alderson (1979), a former chief constable argued that society was changing and that policing styles had to reflect this. Society was becoming free, permissive and participatory and authoritarian policing styles were no longer applicable (Alderson 1979: 376). His vision for the future of policing consisted of important aims that are still relevant in contemporary community policing styles for instance neighbourhood policing. In addition his suggestions placed emphasis on a more pro-active style of policing that works with the public in their communities again much like the koban concept of community oriented policing where they take a much more proactive role in taking a real interest to the local community needs of crime and disorder that is based upon active co-operation by preference to policing by consent. As for crime and community relations, at a time when policing in the UK and USA had drifted into more reactive and detached modes, the Japanese koban appeared to offer a model of community policing at its best and most effective. The Japanese Police Bureau was established in 1874 under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Japanese police were supposedly oppressive and even instituted a thought control operation to blot out any thinking contrary to overt support of the regime in power (Kanfman 1975: 17). After the Second World War, the US assisted Japan in rebuilding its police systems as a decentralized democratic body in an attempt to reduce the power of the police to impose a local system of policing. However these reforms were short lived and by 1954, Japan enacted a Police Law to restructure the police appropriate to cultural its needs (Hoffman 1982; Kanfman 1975) . By far the most well-known of the alternative models to the west is the koban structure of community policing in Japan. However, it contains a similar tradition of historical roots, of police integration with homogeneous communities of citizens, and of effectiveness. The Japanese koban offers a legitimate alternative to present day community policing in Western accounts. To serve local communities, the Japanese have local level substations, known as koban and chuzaisho, a residential police box in the rural areas. In the West the Police officers that would closely resemble the Japanese Chuzaisho officers are the sheriffs in the United States. The unit is typically a two-storey building, recognisable by the traditional red lamp. Koban officers normally do not drive around in patrol cars but are often on foot. This encourages frequent interactions with the community, where issues of crime are not the forefront, similarly with PCSOs in the UK who are highly visible in the communities pr edominantly on foot or cycle patrol. Yano (1989: 127) describes them as All day, policemen at the koban (police boxes) keep watch on the neighbourhood, answers questions, and help those who are in need of assistance. This provides a local presence that is missing in many western societies, although somewhat parallel to UKs concept of neighbourhood teams in the UK. The core purpose of PCSOs is to support Neighbourhood Policing teams in their neighbourhood thus spending the majority of their time within neighbourhoods (NPIA 2008) therefore dealing with community priorities and concerns, through community engagement and effective problem solving but not wholly reminiscent of the koban community orientated policing concept. Kobans form the first line of police response to the public and as such the scope of general assistance is wide. Koban officers may lend out umbrellas, may act as a lost and found office and often run various community activities e.g. distribution of local letters (Leishman 1999) to accepting a range of welfare and social service responsibilities. These officers attempt to become a part of the community, and their families often contribute in performing these jobs whilst in Britain, PCSOs, are uniformed support staffs that help officers tackle issues such as vandalism and antisocial behaviour. The police officers also administer surveys. Police officers conduct twice-yearly house-by-house district surveys on residents for various information e.g. names, occupations, ages, vehicle registration numbers etc. which has almost become a custom in the Japanese culture as its voluntary and rarely opposed. This type of community policing practiced in Japan would create a breach of civil liber ties in the Western community policing models The Koban and Chuzaisho system remains the foundation of Japans centralized police system. In contrast to community policing in western world three common characteristics exist between police box operations relative to the practices of Japanese corporations. In essence, Japanese community policing is meditative of Japanese culture whereas the Peelian model of crime-fighting, much adapted according to local national and cultural circumstances. The result historically was a patchwork of different police organizations concerned to enforce social order in communities from a local source. The theme of Japanese culture is groupism which interconnects the two key concepts of ie and mura. These two ideas cast Japan as one big family, in which each member is required to sacrifice their interest for the purpose of group welfare. Consistent with the concept of groupism, urban police boxes play a central role in carrying out police affairs as a team, relative to the Japanese community. Crime con trol is perceived to be a collective responsibility, a community matter, and not a function solely allocated to the local or state authorities like in the UK. Secondly, samurai heritage forms seniority, the basis of promotion. In the work place, i.e. police officers are promoted on the basis of seniority rather than ability in contrast to that of the UK. Thirdly, the career of a Japanese police officer is a lifetime commitment for both the officer and his family. Like all other professions in Japan, the job directs all other aspects of public and private life whereas in the UK police officers are required to retire after thirty years of service (Alarid Wang 1997). From the above it illustrates Japans is culturally very homogeneous as well as inclusive unlike the west. Apart from ethnic homogeneity, there is a supposed unity in social norms. Japanese culture places significant emphasis on the importance of harmony. Evidently, this is conducive to a community oriented policing style in Japan (Castberg 1990).

Gravity: Meaning of Life and Crystal Bowl Essay

Symbolism is a good tool to use when we come across difficult abstract concepts such as life and death. For example, in her article entitled â€Å"Gravity†, David Leavitt tells us a story about how a mom named Sylvia encourages her HIV infected son Theo to live longer. When Theo started to have bad eye sight in his childhood Sylvia just let him wear her flamboyant glasses despite that people around them all think that Theo looks strange. After Theo grew up, between a drug that could sustain his life and a drug that could save his sight, Theo chose the second one. Sylvia worried that Theo would give up the hope for living, so she tried to encourage Theo to live by a strange way which similar to the way she help him with his sight when he was a child. She threw a very heavy crystal bowl to Theo when they were shopping in a gift store. Theo caught the bowl without thinking. Theo realized that by throwing the bowl, on one side, Sylvia tended to prove that he is still alive. On the other side, Sylvia wanted to encourage him to live longer. The crystal bowl in the story represents exactly what Theo was going through. It symbolizes both life and death. It represents life because it was heavy and valuable â€Å"(The crystal bowl is) Four hundred and twenty- five dollars† (l. 88) This shows that the crystal bowl is very valuable just like that human’s life is very precious. In the same time, crystal bowl represent death because it could easily been shattered. Theo was surprised that he actually did not shatter the bowl â€Å"Theo looked at the floor, still surprised not to see shards of glass around his feet. † (l. 96-97) If the crystal bowl were broken, it would have not value or meaning just like it has lost its life. So, the Crystal bowl in the story represents death. If the bowl shattered, it just like a person lost his/her life. The crystal bowl also represents the character and hopes of Sylvia. The crystal in the story is very showing and pricy. â€Å"(The crystal bowl is) a large ridges crystal bowl, a very fifties sort of bowl, stalwart and square-jawed. † (l. 84-86) It represents Sylvia’s flamboyant and materialism characters. The author tells us that Sylvia has a flamboyant character by describing Sylvia’s bold and flashy glasses†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ harlequins with tiny rhinestones in the corners†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (l.9) The author also implies that Sylvia is quite materialism by showing us that she care a lot about the price of a graduation gift her sister given to her son â€Å"Don’t you remember that cheap little nothing Bibi gave you for your graduation? It was disgusting. †(l. 50-51) On the other hand, the crystal bowl represents the strength of Sylvia’s hope for Theo to live because the crystal bowl is heavy â€Å"’That’s heavy,’ Sylvia said, observing with satisfaction how the bowl had weighted Theo’s arms down†(l. 93-94) The heavier the stronger, so the heaviness of the crystal bowl represent the strong will and hope of Sylvia. The author shows us that Sylvia is a strong willed woman who has done extremely stressful things in a role â€Å"The DHPG injections she (Sylvia) took in stride—she’s seen her own mother through her dying, after all, Four times a day, with the equanimity of a nurse, she cleaned out the plastic tube implanted in his chest, inserted a sterilized hypodermic a Sylvia and slowly dripped bag of sight-giving liquid into his vein†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (l.17-20) It shows that Sylvia has tremendous strength just like the toughness the crystal bowl appeared to be. The author also shows us that Sylvia’s hope for Theo to live is very strong. Even though Sylvia was stressed out †Yet she (Sylvia) had also, at about three o’clock one morning, woken him up to tell him she was going to the twenty-four- hour supermarket, and was there anything her wanted†(1. 122-124) This shows that Sylvia was on the edge of mental broken-down. But Sylvia still keeps strong hope for Theo to live â€Å"†¦ it had occurred to him (Theo) that she (Sylvia) was trusting his two feeble hands, out of the whole world, to keep it from shattering. † This shows that after all, Sylvia strongly hoped that, showing Theo that he was still strong by throwing the crystal bowl and letting him catch it, Theo would not continue on giving up his life but choose to live longer. The crystal also symbolized the general message which the author is trying to convey to the readers: life should be fully lived. The author shows that Theo was dying and tended to giving up his life. He felt â€Å"†¦wide and unswimmable the gulf was becoming between him and the evereceding shoreline of the will †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (l. 35-36) Even though he felt that way, he still caught the heavy crystal bowl without thinking. It shows the underlining deep and significant meaning of the story â€Å"There are certain things you’ve already done before you even think how to do them†¦ the bowl, which Theo was holding before he could even begin to calculate its brief trajectory†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (l. 131-133) This shows us that all human have an instinct for living. By showing us this, the story conveys a message to the readers that even though life is violable like the fragile crystal bowl; it doesn’t mean that we should give up. Instead, we should look at the positive side of life. Just like the crystal bowl also heavy and strong side, human lives also have a strong side because very one have instinct for living. Therefore, we should have faith to ourselves and stop complaining our own misery but start to look at life in a positive way, and realize that our lives should be fully lived.

Costs, perfect competition, monopolies, monopolistic competition Essay

* Total Cost = market value of inputs firm uses in production * Profit = TR – TC * Costs of production = opportunity costs of output of goods and services * Explicit costs = input costs that require outlay of money by firm * i. e. $1000 spent on flour = opportunity cost of $1000 because can’t be spent elsewhere * Implicit costs = input costs that do not require outlay of money by firm * i. e. working as baker at $10/hour, but could be making $20/hour as a computer analyst * Economists include both costs, while accountants often ignore implicit costs * Important implicit cost = opportunity cost of capital. * i. e. use $300,000 savings to buy factory, but could have invested it at interest rate of 5%/year * ? forgone $15,000/year in interest income = implicit opportunity cost of business * i. e. use $100,000 savings and borrow $200,000 from bank * Explicit cost will now include $10,000 paid to bank in interest * Opportunity cost is still $15,000 (OC of $10,000 paid to bank is $10,000 and there is a forgone interest savings of $5000) * Economic profit = TR – TC (including both explicit and implicit costs) * Accounting profit = TR – TEC (total explicit costs). * Consequently, accounting profit is often > economic profit * For economist, business is only profitable if it can cover all explicit and implicit costs Production & Costs * In short run = size of factory is fixed because it cannot be built overnight, but output can be varied by varying the number of workers * In long run = size of factory and number of workers can be varied * Production function: relationship b/w quantity of inputs used to make a good and the quantity of output of that good (short-run) * Marginal product = increase in output that arises from additional unit of input * MP = ? TP/? Q * Law of diminishing marginal product = property whereby the marginal product of an input declines as the quantity of the input increases * Slope of production function (quantity of input vs. quantity of output) = marginal product * Graph become â€Å"flatter† as marginal product decreases (see graph) * Total cost curve = graph w/ quantity produced on x-axis and total cost on y-axis * Graph becomes â€Å"steeper† as quantity of output increases (see graph). * Fixed costs = costs that do not vary with quantity of output produced * i.e. rent of factory, bookkeeper’s salary etc. * Variable costs = costs that do vary with the quantity of output produced * i. e. cost of raw materials, wages of workers (increases as more output produced) etc. * Average Total Cost = TC/Q * Also equal to average fixed cost + average variable cost * Average fixed cost = FC/Q * Average variable cost = VC/Q * Marginal cost = increase in total cost arising from an extra unit of production * MC = ? TC/? Q * Marginal cost rises as the quantity of output produced rises (see graph) Typical Cost Curves * In many firms, MP does not start to diminish immediately after hiring 1st worker * 2nd or 3rd worker may actually have higher MP than first, b/c a team of workers can divide tasks and work more productively than a single worker * AFC, AVC, MC, and ATC will look different for this scenario Costs in the Short Run and in the Long Run. * Division of total cost between fixed and variable costs depends on time horizon * In a few months, GM cannot adjust number/size of factories, only workers * Cost of factories, is therefore, fixed cost in short run * Over several years, however, GM can expand size and number of factories * Cost of factories, is therefore, variable cost in long run * Because fixed costs become variable in the long run, the ATC curve in short run differs from the ATC curve in the long-run * Long-run ATC is much flatter than short-run ATC * Short-run curves also lie on or above long-run curves. * Properties arise because firms have greater flexibility in the long run – can choose which short-run curve they wish to use * In short-run, b/c of diminishing marginal product, increasing quantity of output increases ATC * In long-run, there are situations where ATC does not change with an increase in output * Constant Returns to Scale: long-run ATC stays same as quantity of output changes * Diseconomies of Scale: long-run ATC rises as quantity of output increases . * Often arises because in large organizations, coordination problems arise – difficult to organize and mobilize vast amounts of labour and raw materials * Economies of Scale: long-run ATC falls as quantity of output increases * Often arises because at higher production levels, workers can specialize * Analysis explains why long-run ATC curves are often U-Shaped * Long-run ATC falls at low levels of production b/c of increasing specialization, and rises at high levels of production b/c of increasing coordination problems What is a competitive market? * Perfectly competitive market has two characteristics: (1) many buyers and many sellers in the market, (2) goods offered by various sellers are largely the same * Goal of perfectly competitive markets is to maximize profits * Actions of any single buyer or seller in market has negligible impact on market price * Each buyer and seller takes market price as given * i. e. no single buyer of milk can influence the price of milk because the buyer purchases a small amount relative to the size of the market * Each seller of milk also as little influence on price of milk, because it is selling milk that is virtually identical to the milk of other sellers. * B/c they must accept market price, buyers and sellers in competitive market = â€Å"price takers† * i. e.if a dairy farm doubles its output of milk, the price of milk remains the same, but their total revenue will double * Total revenue will increase because increase in quantity sold, not increase in price * Sometimes, (3) characteristic of competitive market also used – firms can freely enter or exit the market in the long run * Average revenue = total revenue/quantity sold. * AR = TR/Q * For all firms, average revenue equals the price of the good * Marginal revenue= change in total revenue from an additional unit sold * MR = ? TR/? Q * For all competitive firms, marginal revenue equals the price of the good Three general rules of profit-maximization: * If MR > MC, firm should increase its output * If MR < MC, firm should decrease its output * At the profit-maximizing level of output, MR = MC * Remember, because a competitive firm is a price taker, its MR is equal to the market price Note: In essence, because the firm’s marginal-cost curve determines the quantity of the good the firm is willing to supply at any price, it is the competitive firm’s supply curve Firm’s Short-Run Decision to Shut Down * Shut-down refers to short-run decision to not produce anything during a specific period of time b/c of current market conditions. * Exit refers to a long-run decision to leave the market * Firm that shuts down temporarily still has to pay fixed costs, whereas a firm that exits the market saves fixed costs and variable costs * i. e.if farmer decides not to produce crops one season, rent for land becomes sunk cost, but if farmer decides to sell farm altogether, no sunk costs * Firm shuts down if total revenue from production is less than its variable costs of production * Shut down if TR < VC * Alternatively, shut down if TR/Q < VC/Q . * Which means, shut down if P < AVC * On graph, if market price is less than minimum point on AVC curve, firm shuts down and ceases production – firm can re-open if market price changes to be higher than minimum point * Therefore, point at which MC intersects AVC is the â€Å"shutdown price† * If a firm shuts down temporarily, its fixed costs are sunk costs * Firm can safely ignore these costs when deciding how much to produce * i. e. why don’t many restaurants close down at lunch time when they are nearly empty? * Because the fixed costs (rent, kitchen equipment, plates, silverware etc. ) would still have to be paid, only the variable costs (cost of additional food and wages to stuff) would be saved * Owner can make enough profit to cover these variable costs, and therefore, keeps the restaurant open Firm’s Long-Run Decision to Exit or Enter a Market * The firm exits the market if the revenue it would get from producing is less than its total costs * Exit of TR < TC * Alternatively, exit if TR/Q < TC/Q * Which means, exit if P < ATC and enter if P > ATC * Therefore, point at which MC intersects ATC is the â€Å"exit/entry price† Measuring Profits from Graphs * Recall, Profit = TR – TC. * Alternatively, Profit = (TR/Q – TC/Q) x Q * Which means, Profit = (P – ATC) x Q The Supply Curve in a Competitive Market * So far we have examined supply decision of single firm – now examining supply curve of market * Two possibilities – short term = fixed number of firms, long term = firms can enter and exit The Short-Run: Market Supply with a Fixed Number of Firms * In short-run, the number of firms in the market is fixed * As a result, the market supply curve reflects the individual firms’ marginal-cost curves, only with increased magnitude (both graphs same, but market quantity multiplied by some scalar value) The Long-Run: Market Supply with Entry and Exit. * Assume all firms and all potential firms have same cost curves * If firms already in market are profitable, new firms will have incentive to enter the market * Entry if P >ATC because profit is positive (recall, Profit = (P – ATC) x Q) * Entry = expand # of firms, increase quantity of good supplied, and drive down prices and profits * If firms already in market are experiencing losses, firms may exit the market * Exit if P < ATC because profit is negative * Exit = decrease # of firms, decrease quantity of good supplied, and drive up prices and profits * At the end of this process of entry and exist, firms that remain the market must be making zero economic profit * In other words, the process of entry and exist ends only when price and average total cost are driven to equality (P = ATC). * This has a surprising implication—we earlier noticed that firms produce so that P = MC * We just noted that free entry and exist forced P = ATC * The only way this can occur is of MC = ATC, and this occurs only when the firm is operating at the minimum of average total cost—called the â€Å"efficient scale† * ? long-run equilibrium of a competitive market with free entry and exit must have firms operating at their efficient scale * Long-run supply curve (market) will be horizontal at the price which corresponds to the minimum of average total cost * Any P above this level generates profit, leading to entry and increase in total quantity supplied * Any P (price) below this level creates losses, leading to exit + decrease in total quantity supplied * Eventually, number of firms in market adjusts so P = minimum of ATC, and there are enough firms to satisfy all the demand at this price Why do competitive firms stay in business if they make zero profit? * Remember that economic profits are not the same as accounting profits * Economic profit accounts for opportunity cost as well * So, when a firm makes zero economic profit, it may still be making accounting profits A Shift in Demand in the Short Run and Long Run * Because firms can enter and exit more easily in the long run than in the short run, the long-run supply curve is typically more elastic than the short-run supply curve Chapter 15: Monopoly Why Monopolies Arise. * Firm is monopoly if it is sole seller of its product and if its product has no close substitutes * Case of monopoly is barriers to entry: a monopoly remains only seller in a market because other firms cannot enter market and compete with it * Barriers to entry are monopoly resources, government-created monopolies, and natural monopolies Monopoly Resources. * Single firm owns a key resource * i. e. only one well in town and no way to get water from anywhere else * Rarely occurs because economies are large and resourced owned by many people Government-Created Monopolies * Government gives one person or firm exclusive right to sell good or service * Two important examples are patent and copyright laws * Both lead to higher prices than under competition, but encourage desirable behaviour * Drug companies allowed patents to encourage research, and authors allowed copyrights so they write more original books * Monopoly = increased incentive for creative activity, but at a higher cost Natural Monopolies. * Single firm can supply good or service to entire market at lower cost than could 2 or more firms * Occurs when firm has economies of scale over relevant range of output * In other words, firm’s ATC curve continually declines because when production is divided among more firms, each firm produces less, and ATC rises – single firm can produce as smallest cost * i. e. to provide water to town, firm must build network of water pipes – if two firms involved, both would have to pay fixed cost of water pipe, resulting in increased ATC. * Natural monopoly = less concern about new entrants * Normal monopoly’s profits attract entrants to market, but in a natural monopoly, new entrants cannot achieve same low costs that monopolist enjoys * If a market expands (greater demand) natural monopoly can evolve into competitive market Monopoly vs. Competition. * Monopoly can influence market price of output, while competitive firm cannot * As monopoly is sole producer in market, it can alter price of good by adjusting supply to market * Demand curve for competitive market is perfectly elastic (can sell as little or as much as it wants at one price), while down-ward sloping for monopoly * ? monopoly has to accept lower price to sell more output, and can only accept higher price by selling less output – so what price and quantity will it choose to maximize profits? Monopoly’s Revenue * AR = price of good (true for monopoly and competitive), but MR is not equal to price of good. * As a result, average-revenue curve is also monopolist’s demand curve * When monopolist increases quantity sold, has two effects on total revenue (P x Q): 1) the output effect = more output sold, so Q is higher, which trends to increase total revenue 2) the price effect = price falls, so P is lower, which tends to decrease total revenue * Competitive firm as no price effects – price taker, therefore can sell as little or as much as it wants, without any change in price * ? Output/price effect causes monopolist’s MR after first unit sold to always be less than price of the good * Consequently, monopoly’s marginal-revenue curve always lies below its demand curve Profit Maximization * Profit-maximizing quantity of output as determined by intersection of MR and MC curve * Some key differences between monopolies and competitive firms: * P = MR = MC (competitive). * P > MR = MC * In competitive markets, price equals marginal cost, and in monopolized markets, price exceeds marginal cost – crucial to understanding the social cost of monopoly Monopoly’s Profits * Recall, Profit = TR – TC * Alternatively, Profit = (TR/Q – TC/Q) x Q * Which means, Profit = (P – ATC) x Q * Same as in competitive markets Monopoly Drugs vs. Generic Drugs * What happens to price of a drug with patent runs out? * Monopoly firm maximizes profit by producing quantity at which MR = MC, and charging price well above MC * Therefore, when patent runs out, the price of the good falls to MC * Note: MC for drugs is almost always constant. * Monopolist does not lose all market, however, because many buyers remain loyal to brand-name, and therefore, brand-name can still sell at slightly higher price than â€Å"generic brands† Welfare Cost of Monopoly * Monopolies = higher prices than competitive firms = undesirable for consumers = desirable for producers in terms of total revenue * Is it possible that monopoly is desirable from the standpoint of society as a whole? * Recall total surplus measures well-being of buyers and sellers in a market * Producer surplus is amount producers receive for a good – (minus) their costs of producing it * Consumer surplus is consumers’ willingness to pay for a good – amount they actually pay for it * In this case, single producer is monopolist The Deadweight Loss * Consider case of a â€Å"benevolent social planner†. * Social planner care not only about profit earned by firm’s owners, but also benefits received by the firm’s consumers * Planner tries to maximize total surplus, which is producer surplus (profit) plus consumer surplus * Alternatively, value of good to consumers – costs of making the good to monopoly producer * Demand curve reflects value of good to consumers *. Marginal cost curve reflects cost to the monopolist * Consequently, the socially efficient quantity is found were the demand curve and marginal-cost curve intersect * If social planner were running the monopoly, he would achieve efficient outcome by charging the price found at the intersection of demand curve (AR-curve) and the MC curve – much like a competitive market * However, monopolists charge the price found at the intersection of the MC and MR curve * ? the monopolist produces less than the socially efficient quantity of output, and charges more than the socially efficient price * When the monopolist charges a price higher than the marginal cost, some potential consumers value the good higher than the MC but lower than the monopolist’s price * Consumers do not buy the good, and monopoly pricing prevents mutually beneficial trade * The deadweight loss triangle = total surplus lost = reduction in economic well-being from monopoly Is Deadweight Loss a Social Problem? * Not necessarily a problem for society * Welfare in monopolized market includes welfare or both consumers and producers * When a consumer pays extra dollar to producer because of monopoly price, consumer is worse off by a dollar, and producer is better off by same amount * Transfer from consumer to producer does not affect total surplus—sum of consumer and producer surplus * Unless, consumers are for some reason more deserving than producers—a normative judgement about equity that goes beyond realm of economic efficiency. * Problem arises because firm produces and sells a quantity of output below the level that maximizes total surplus Price Discrimination * Business practice of selling the same good at different prices to different consumers * Can occur in a monopoly (firm with market power), not in a competitive market * In competitive market, many firms selling same good at market price—no one would lower market price for any customer as they can sell any given quantity at one price * Increasing price would also be pointless, as customer would simply buy from another firm A Parable about Pricing. * Dry-cleaning example from class – charge adults $10 and charge students $5 with a stdent card * Choosing to forgo market of students at $5 results in deadweight loss because students do not end up putting their shirts into dry-cleaning, though they value the service more than its MC of production * With price-discrimination, however, everyone ends up with a shirt . * Price discrimination can eliminate the inefficiency inherent in monopoly pricing, because differentiating prices allows producer to charge customer price closer to customer’s willingness to pay than is possible with a single price Notes about Price-Discrimination * Monopolist must be able to separate customers according to willingness to pay—either geographically, by age, by income etc. * Arbitrage prevents price-discrimination – process of buying good in one market at a low price and selling it in another market for a higher price * Increased welfare from price-discrimination is all higher producer surplus, not consumer surplus * Adults/students no better off from having cleaned shirts—paid price they were willing to pay * Entire increase in total surplus is a result of higher profits for the monopolist The Analytics of Price Discrimination. Perfect price discrimination = situation in which a monopolist knows exactly the willingness to pay of each customer and can charge each customer different prices accordingly * Monopolist gets the enter surplus in every transaction * Also sometimes referred to as first-degree price discrimination * Refer to diagrams (a) and (b). * (a) firm charges single price above MC, and b/c some potential customer who values good at more than MC does not buy it at this high price, monopoly causes deadweight loss * (b) each customer who values good at more than MC buys good and is charged willingness to pay – mutually beneficial trade takes place, no deadweight loss, and entire surplus derived from market goes to monopoly producer in form of profit * Of course, in real life, price discrimination is never perfect because various customers are willing to pay various different prices – two forms of imperfect price discrimination . * 1) second-degree price discrimination = charging different prices to same customer depending on quantity of product bought * 2) third-degree price discrimination = market can be segmented and segments have different elasticities of demand * i. e. movie theatres charge lower price for children and senior citizens than for other patrons * Makes little sense in a competitive market, where price = MC, and MC for providing seat to child/senior citizen is same as anyone else. * If movie theatre has local monopoly, however, price-discrimination has motives * Demand curve for adults is less elastic, therefore can charge higher price, whereas demand curve for children/seniors is more elastic, therefore can charge lower price * How does imperfect price discrimination affect welfare? * Compared to monopoly outcome with single price, imperfect price discrimination can raise, lower, or leave unchanged total surplus in a market—however, always raises monopoly’s profits Examples of Price Discrimination * Airline Prices – charge less if stay over Saturday night or purchase two weeks ahead to separate personal travellers, from business travellers, who pay more * Discount Coupons – rich, busy executive will not clip coupons, whereas a unemployed individual will, allowing price discrimination * Financial Aid – separate wealthy students willing to pay high tuition from less well-off students * Quantity Discounts – bulk is cheaper because customer’s willingness to pay for an additional unit declines as the customer buys more units Public Policy towards Monopolies. * Monopolies fail to allocate resources efficiently * Produce less than socially desirable quantity of output * Charge prices above marginal cost Policymaker’s Response * Increasing Competition with Competition Law – for example, mergers * Regulation – natural monopolies not allowed charging whatever price they want, but what price should government set of a natural monopoly? * One might conclude set P = MC, so customers equal quantity of output that maximizes total surplus, and allocation of resources is efficient * However, natural monopolies always have declining ATC ? MC < ATC, if P = MC, then P < ATC, and firm loses money and exits industry * Government can subsidize monopolist and pick up losses inherent to MC-pricing, but would need to raise money through taxation for subsidy, and taxes have own deadweight loss * Alternatively, regulators can allow monopolist to charge price higher than MC, and if regulated P equals ATC, monopolist earns exactly zero economic profit * Yet, average-cost pricing leads to deadweight losses b/c monopolist’s price no longer reflects MC or producing good * Ultimate problem with MC- and AC-pricing is it gives monopolist no incentive to reduce costs—normally reduce costs to increase profits, but in these cases, monopolist will not benefit * Solution: keep some benefits from lower costs in form of higher profit, and practice something that is a small departure from MC-pricing. * Public Ownership—government owns natural monopoly instead of private firm * Doing Nothing—degree of â€Å"market failure† in economy smaller than â€Å"political failure† in gov’t Differences and Similarities | Competition| Monopoly| Similarities| Goal of firms| Maximize profits| Maximize profits| Rule for maximizing| MR = MC| MR = MC| Can earn economic profits in short run? | Yes| Yes| Differences| Number of Firms| Many| One| Marginal Revenue| MR = P| MR < P| Price| P = MC| P > MC| Produces welfare-maximizing level of output? | Yes| No| Entry in long run? | Yes| No| Can earn economic profits in long run? | No| Yes| Price discrimination possible? | No| Yes| Chapter 16: Monopolistic Competition. * Oligopoly: market structure in which only a few sellers offer similar or identical products * Concentration ratio: percentage of total output in market supplied by four largest firms * Monopolistic competition: market structure in which many firms sell products that are similar but not identical—following qualities: * Many sellers ? firms competing for same group of customers. * Product differentiation ? downward-sloping demand curve * Free entry and exit ? market adjusts until economic profits driven to zero Monopolistically Competitive Firm in the Short Run * Products are different ? faces downward-sloping demand curve * Same profit maximization rule as monopoly (Q at MR = MC and equivalent P on demand curve) * Identical to monopoly The Long Run Equilibrium. * When firms make profit in the short-run, new firm have incentive to enter the market * Demand curve shifts to left (reduces demand of each individual firm) * As demand for firms’ fall, firms experience declining profit * Conversely, when firms incur losses in short-run, firms exit * Demand curves shift to right (demand experienced by individual firms increases) * As demand for firms’ products rises, firms experience rising profit. * Entry/exit continues until firms in market make zero economic profit (P = ATC) * Demand curve is tangent to ATC (just touching, never crossing) * Characteristics of long-run equilibrium in monopolistic competition * As in monopoly market, P > MC (for profit maximization, MR = MC, and downward-sloping demand curve makes MR < P) * As in competitive market, P = ATC (free entry and exit drive economic profit to 0) Monopolistic vs. Perfect Competition Excess Capacity. * Entry and exit drive each firm in monopolistically competitive market to point of tangency between demand and ATC curves * However, this means quantity produced is less than that produced at the â€Å"efficient scale† –quantity that minimizes ATC (point at which MC intersects with ATC) * Perfectly competitive firms produce at the efficient scale * Monopolistically competitive firms therefore have excess capacity—they are not producing as much as they potentially can * Firm forgoes opportunity to produce more because it would need to cut prices to sell the additional output * More profitable to continue operating at excess capacity Markup over Marginal Cost. * Relationship between Price and Marginal Cost also different * Competitive firm, P = MC * Monopolistic competition, P > MC, because it must be for P = ATC * This leads to behavioural differences b/w perfect and monopolistic competitors * Perfectly competitive firm does not care for additional customers because P = MC, profit from extra unit sold is always zero * By contrast, monopolistically competitive firms P > MC, therefore, extra units sold = more profit Monopolistic Competition and Welfare of Society * One source of inefficiency is that P > MC * Some consumers who value good at more than MC, but less than P will not buy the good * ? deadweight loss similar to that of monopoly pricing * Another source of inefficiency is: 1) Product-variety externality: b/c consumers get some consumer surplus from introduction of new product, entry of new firm conveys +ve externality on consumers 2) Business-stealing externality: b/c other firms lose customers and profits from entry of a new competitor, entry of new firm imposes negative externality on existing firms * Perfectly competitive firms produce identical goods and charge P = MC, therefore neither externality exists under perfect competition * ? Monopolistically competitive markets do not have desirable welfare properties of perfectly competitive markets because it is not ensured that total surplus is maximized * Also very difficult to control these inefficiencies through public policy Advertising * Amount of advertising depends on products * Firm that sells highly differentiated consumer goods i. e.soft drinks, will need to advertise more than seller of undifferentiated industrial nails, or homogenous products like wheat * Some people critique advertising for convincing people that products are more different than they actually are, fostering brand loyalty and encouraging consumers to ignore price differences * With less elastic demand curve, firm charges larger markup over MC. * Support for brands suggests that brands provide consumers with information about quality of goods, and gives firms incentive to maintain high quality to protect reputation of brand names * Others believe encourages competition as it makes customers better informed about products * Advertising can signal quality of product as well, because firm willing to spend money on advertising must be creating a good product.

A Role of Horatio in Hamlet - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 899 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2019/04/05 Category Literature Essay Level High school Tags: Hamlet Essay William Shakespeare Essay Did you like this example? Everyone needs a shoulder to cry on, a best friend, someone to listen to them and confide in. This human need for love and belonging has been long explored by writers, but no other has achieved the insight Shakespeare has through his character of Horatio. In Shakespeares play, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Horatio not only has the role of Hamlets best friend, but also functions as Hamlets conscience in his time of madness providing stability and a clearer view of Hamlets mind and events in the play. Horatio is first introduced during the first act and scene as having been summoned by the soldiers to confirm whether the apparition of the ghost is real or not, immediately establishing him as the voice of reason within the play. When Marcellus explains to his fellow guards what Horatio is there for he accentuates Horatios role as a dependable judge. Horatio wont let belief take hold of him and [he] may approve [their] eyes both of these claims alongside the later assertion that Horatio is a scholar allow the audience to trust Horatios judgement providing credibility to those who witness the ghost (1.1.34). Throughout the play Horatio serves as a reminder that Hamlet is not mad, for Hamlet could soliloquy the entire play and he would continue to appear as a mad man. Without his dialogue with Horatio there would be little to no argument for Hamlets sanity. This is especially conveyed by Hamlets confession that he is to act with an antic disposition to Horatio and Marcellus, without t his confession one could simply declare that Hamlet has gone mad due to the ghost with little to no argument (1.5.192). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "A Role of Horatio in Hamlet" essay for you Create order Hamlet later fortifies Horatios role as a dependable source in his speech and request to Horatio in act three scene two, not passions slave he refers to him in his speech (3.2.77). Throughout the speech he emphasizes that he has chosen Horatio as his confidant because he is not one to be swayed by peoples statuses or his own emotions. Hamlets admiration for Horatios character exposes Hamlets desire to cease being a slave to his own passions, something he feels he desperately needs in the situation he finds himself in. Resulting in Hamlets trust and request for Horatio to provide him with an unbiased voice of reason when observing Claudius reaction to the play. Horatios role as a window to Hamlets mind extends to that of a conscience. Constantly advising Hamlet against danger. Hamlet exhibits a meticulous hesitation when it comes to his plan to avenge his father throughout the play, therefore when he is blinded by his passions Horatio serves to project Hamlets more hesitant and rational side. Horatios first warning is in in the first act and fifth scene, warning a grief-stricken Hamlet against following his fathers ghost for it may kill him, be a demon in disguise or even, make Hamlet lose his reasoning, and give Hamlet [thoughts] of desperation/Without more motive, into every brain referring to thoughts of depression and suicide (1.4.84-85). Shakespeare employs Horatio to unveil Hamlets subconscious apprehension of what following his fathers ghost may entail. The second advise by Horatio is about the duel between Laertes and Hamlet. Horatio advises him against fighting to which Hamlet admits to having ill alls here/about [his] heart or a presentiment about the fight (5.2.226-227). To which Horatio responds to listen anything his mind dislike, Horatios urg ing highlights Hamlets own hesitation (5.2.231). One might argue that as a symbol for Hamlets conscience Horatio would display a greater disposition for vengeance such as the one Hamlet displays throughout the play, however Hamlet expresses clear hesitance at his own ideas. Horatio as his conscience aids Hamlet in manifesting his self doubt. At Hamlets peak madness, his return from England, he discloses the fate of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to Horatio. Throughout his accounts he appears mad with pride of his cleverness and luck to have escaped with retaliation for what he believed was an intentional betrayal on Rosencrantz and Guildensterns part. Horatios first reaction is one of questioning intended to give Hamlet an opportunity to express some remorse at his betrayal, but instead Hamlet responds with no remorse they did make love to this employment in an attempt to justify his actions (5.2.64). Hamlets doubt increases with Horatios response to his attempts to justify himself [why], what a king is this! Horatio questions, what kind of king would send his subjects to a damning death like he has done (5.2.70). At this comment Hamlet is not only reminded that if he is to successfully avenge his father he will become the king and the responsibilities that it implies, but of his task which will end in the spilt of Claudius blood. Causing him to doubt himself out loud [is it] not [in] perfect/conscience/To [kill] him with this arm? completely baring his hesitancy. As Hamlets conscience Horatio counsels him to a path of rightfulness. Horatio provides insight to Hamlets mind and credibility to the events and characters of the play. Comparable to a conscience, for he is morally upright, trustworthy, constantly urging Hamlet to do what is best for him as a person. Without a Horatio Hamlet might have truly lost himself in his quest for vengeance. Everyone needs a friend and a voice of reason. Students, kings, kids, anyone who is in a dilemma needs an advisor as humans need friends.